BackgroundWith the rising number of uninsured Americans, health care has been a major issue in the United States. Due to “The Great Recession” and the growing number of Americans who found themselves unemployed, the number of uninsured Americans has rose from 46.6 million in 2005 to a record number of 50.7 million in 2010. Many of these uninsured again have lost their employee health insurance benefits or they made the decision to cut their health insurance just to cut back costs. The rising prices of health care have also been a concern over the last few years. With new medical technology and increasing prices of prescription drugs, it has become hard for one particular group to keep up. Our elderly. For most of the elderly, they do not have employer-paid insurance to depend on. They depend on Medicare for their medical and prescription needs. But with the increasing number of baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare, the future of the Medicare fund is looking very dim. Problem Issue

When Americans retire, the last thing they should have to worry about is how will my health care be paid for? With healthcare becoming a big issue lately, Americans need to be very knowledge about their options for healthcare and more importantly, where will the future going for that healthcare plan. Medicare has become a hot topic because of the state of the Medicare trust fund. This trust fund was created by the U.S. Department of Treasury to maintain the funds that are dedicated for Medicare. The future of this trust fund is very important to the healthcare future of our disabled, retired and elderly Americans. To fully understand what needs to be done to help Medicare stay afloat; we need to first understand what Medicare is and how it is funded. We then can determine solutions and recommendations that can be made to solve the Medicare funding crisis. Literature Review

The United States Dept, of Health and Human Services issued a pamphlet every year to new and old beneficiaries of Medicare called, Medicare and You. This pamphlet outlines what Medicare is, the benefits and the cost of each part of Medicare. The brief Financing Medicare: An Issue Brief, which was printed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, outlines how Medicare is funded and explains in detail how Medicare is trying to keep the trust fund plentiful. The brief also details how healthcare spending has increased and how this spending has affected Medicare beneficiaries. In the article, Medicare's Deepening Financial Crisis: The High Price of Fiscal Irresponsibility, Robert Moffitt discusses how increasing financial costs and the implementation of the Prescription drug policy have caused the increasing financial costs of Medicare. The American Medical Association issued an article, Medicare’s Immediate and Long-Term Problems Demand Attention, which discusses how Medicare trustees have become increasingly concerned on the solvency of the Medicare trust fund and what options they have in order to get back on track. Austin Frakt wrote in his blog in The Incidental Economist of how the Academy of Actuaries wrote solutions on how the government can solve the Medicare financial crisis. This article clearly gives great reasons as to what the government can do to help Medicare beneficiaries.

Richard Johnson’s article, Changing the Age of Medicare Eligibility Implications for Older Adults, Employers, and the Government discusses the pros and cons of increasing the Medicare age to 67. It shows how well Medicare can recover if small changes occur within the plan. Robert Pear’s article, Recession Drains Social Security and Medicare that was published in the New York Times discusses how the current “Great Recession” has caused more problems for Social Security and Medicare financial plans. It discusses that because of the recession, Medicare’s trust fund depletion date has moved up 2 years. Problem Analysis

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...Medicare: Past, Present, and Future
The History of Medical Insurance
The idea for a national health plan was not something considered to be a priority of American government prior to the 1940’s. President Harry S. Truman was the first president to push the issue to the United States Congress in 1945. Truman called for the creation of a national health insurance plan that would be aviailable to all Americans. He envisioned coverage for hospital visits, dental care, nursing care, and doctor’s visits. The plan would cover any medical expenses that were considered typical medical expenses. Although Truman envisioned this plan, he was unsuccessful in getting Congress to approve such a vast undertaking during his term (2).
President John F. Kennedy also made an unsuccessful attempt at persuading Congress to enact a national health care coverage plan during his term in the 1960’s (2). The push for a national health care coverage plan, especially for the elderly, came from the economic problem that health care costs increase as a person ages, and income declines within this same period. Prior to medicare, only a little over half of those aged 65 or older had some type of health care coverage. Additionally, those who did have health care coverage were at risk for being terminated from that coverage once they reached a certain age limit. Older individuals were considered to be in a high risk category for health problems, therefore...

...MEDICARE
Prior to 1965, it was almost impossible for people 65 years and older to get a private health insurance. Medicare was enacted in 1965 to counter the growing health care costs and provide access to the elderly, making health care a universal right for all Americans 65 years and older. (Medicare &amp; You, 2013)
The rapid growth in the baby boomers population that began in 2011 caused a burden on the government by adding to the already high deficits. Medicare enrollment is expected to double by the year 2030 and estimated to reach 80 million. Medicare spending in 2010 was 3.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is expected to grow to 5.1% by the year 2030. (Gluck &amp; Reno, 2001)
Today, Medicare’s coverage includes elders aged 65 and older, people with certain disabilities, and people suffering from End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) irrespective of age. Here are the four types of Medicare plans: (Medicare &amp; You, 2013)
1. Medicare Part A, also known as Hospital Insurance, covers inpatient services in hospitals, skilled nursing facility, hospice and home health aide.
2. Medicare Part B, also known as Medical Insurance, covers services from doctors and other health care providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment, and certain preventive services.
3. Medicare Part C, also known...

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Jonathan Bibb
MedicareMedicare is a federal insurance program that was created to aid the elderly with their medical bills. The Medicare program was created 40 years ago. The original benefits under Medicare did not include drug coverage. Medicare has since added drug coverage to bridge the gap under the original available benefits. The Medicare program is facing serious financial challenges. The projected expense for medical services among the elderly is said to exceed the available tax revenue needed to finance the program.
The elderly has reported that they are satisfied with the services available under the Medicare program. Medicare beneficiaries report that they have excellent access to care. They have excellent access to prescription drug, schedule appointment with their physicians, have medical tests, and follow-up treatments. It is reported that the elderly have greater access to medical services than patients covered by private insurance carriers. Preventative services are one of the primary benefits available to the elderly. Even though Medicare provides excellent benefits, the elderly still spends a large amount of their personal income on out-of-pocket charges for medical services.
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...History of Medicare
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Professor Michele Fletcher
December 4, 2006
Background
The Social Security system, which was created as an economic safety net for older Americans, was failing to protect them against the greatest single cause of economic dependency in old age which was the high cost of medical care. The need for a social insurance program to provide older Americans with reliable health care coverage started within the Social Security Administration and in Congress. In July 1965, the House and Senate passed the bill which established Medicare, a social insurance program designed to provide all older adults with comprehensive health care coverage at an affordable cost.
Findings
Since it’s inception in 1965, Medicare has been one of the fastest growing federal programs. When the program began on Jul 1, 1965, 19.1 million persons were enrolled. In 2004, approximately 42 million persons were enrolled. In its first 30 years, the program’s costs grew at an average rate of 15% a year. As a percentage of the federal budget, Medicare accounted for just over 1% in 1967, increased to 12% by 1997, was budgeted at 11.6% for 2004, and is projected at 15.2% for 2010. In 2003, Medicare represented 19.1% of all personal health care pending in the United States. (The Health Care Manger, 2005).
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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act with Suicide
Explanation of Issue
Andrews (2014) discusses the issues dealing with the lack of coverage from insurance companies when injuries are directed from suicidal patients, or even death from a suicide. According to Andrews, experts state that exclusions such as these are not permitted under federal law. According to the 2006 Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act, employment-based health plans are not able to discriminate against workers with pre-existing health conditions by denying health coverage. However depending on the “source-of-injury” insurers are able to deny coverage. Taking part in an activity such as bungee jumping or skydiving is frowned upon by insurers because if such harm or death were to be the result, under law they are able to define the death as “intentionally-self-inflicted”. Suicidal deaths dealing with mental health issues have also been an issue when dealing with coverage, but according to the law, that too is not require to be covered by insurers. According to Andrews, suicide is a common exclusion from insurance policies.
Interdisciplinary Approach
Healthcare systems have their own set of rules, regulations and exclusions when it comes to coverage’s. In most cases, suicide is a common exclusion that most healthcare insurance providers list as non-coverable, even though federal law says otherwise because of “the...

...Medicare is one of the largest health insurance programs in the world. Medicare provides universal health insurance to the elderly and disabled. Medicare was introduced in 1965. It was the largest change in health care coverage. Medicare provides the elderly with better health and risk reduction. It provided 40% reduction in out-of-pocket expenses. The medicare program has removed many of the financial barriers that prevented older people from seeking medical care. Medicare has provided a framework to help achieve improvements in the health care availability to all americans. Medicare returned physicians to an area where they could not afford to practice. Medicare has raised the standard of service in many health facilities. It has helped make a better use of resources such as, home-care services. Medicare plays an important role in the area of human rights. People can not be discriminated against because of their race or sex. Medicare is helping to create a new image of the state health departments and of the public health professions. It has helped prepare us for our responsibilites of planning under the Comprehensive Health Planning Act. As President Lyndon B. Johnson was signing the medicare program into law, President Johnson said:
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...﻿Rolunda Baker
Medicare Crisis
Medicare is another project of Lyndon Baines Johnson Great Society. Spending is obviously out of control. On June 5th the government announced that the Medicare Trust Fund would go broke if something isn’t done with the spending (nationaldebt). In 1965 when LBJ started Health and Medicare, the Total Federal Spending for the year was $101 Billion. By the year 2000 we will spend over 4 times than amount on Health and Medicare alone, and Medicare will equal the annual spending for Defense (CNN). Medicare was a program that was not acceptable gracefully by the Liberal/Socialists. You might keep this in mind when we get to the point where we have to choose what we CAN do versus what we would LIKE to do. According to CMS the government predict that if healthcare keeps going the in the current direction the cost of Medicare will have exceeded defense spending, unlike other Healthcare systems the US healthcare has been a problem for the government as well for it has added to the enormous debt the country already has.
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...Introduction
On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into existence the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (CMS, 2003). This Act over the years is intended to provide prescription drug benefits to seniors. It will also provide subsidies to insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, and would allow private plans to compete with Medicare (CMS, 2003).
Why were changes to Medicare deemed necessary?
The changes to Medicare where deemed necessary, because many seniors and elderly began to find that prescription medication necessary for their well being was out of reach due to costs (CMS, 2003). An overhaul of Medicare would reverse this; create affordable prescription medication, better and more affordable healthcare plans. Another reason for Medicare modernization was to reduce the overall expense of Medicare, because at the rate it was going, it was estimated that Medicare would run out of funds around 2026 .
This bill would not only ensure that prescription medication was more affordable for seniors, but it would create competition, create
choices for seniors, and would make Medicare more effective (CMS, 2003). This health policy aimed at providing $400 billion, which would help over 40 million seniors obtain prescription medication at an affordable price (Medicare, 2008). The...